Freshwater Gallery

Sold Work December, 2011

2012-01-24T15:41:00.000-09:00

In Bloom : Walnuts & Locusts by Ben Seymour.

16 x 20 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas.

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Teaching Sketch : Manganese Summer by Ben Seymour

8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel.

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Summer by Elisabeth Seymour

6 x 8 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas.

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4 x 4 s by Elisabeth Seymour

The Big Pull: Bringing in the Bowhead Whale, Little Diomede Island

2011-11-15T19:57:00.000-09:00

The Big Pull: Bringing in the Bowhead Whale, Little Diomede Island by Ben Seymour

18 x 24 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas.

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The Inuksuk Builders

2011-11-15T07:56:00.000-09:00

The Inuksuk Builders (A la Rockwell Kent) by Ben Seymour

12 x 16 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas.
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First Week of November.

2011-11-05T16:38:00.000-08:00

November: Sycamores on the Huron by Ben Seymour.

14 x 18 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas.

Ben Seymour: 4 Weeks of Plein Aire Painting in October

2011-11-01T10:16:00.000-08:00

1st Week : Treeline with Crab Apples

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

2nd Week: Double Treeline--Deciduous & Coniferous

12 x 16 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

3rd Week: The Orange Maple

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

4th Week: The Red Oak

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

4 x 4's by Elisabeth Seymour @ The Ann Arbor Art Center

2011-10-31T16:44:00.000-08:00

Holiday Sales 2011

2011-10-31T11:35:00.000-08:00

Freshwater Gallery

Arts and Crafts from the Northland

http://freshwatergallery.com

freshwatergallery@gmail.com

(734) 707 5489

Last year, our online sales were quite successful, but we’ve taken steps to improve our marketing and level of representation in the meantime. In addition to an online presence, we’ve spent much time studying and refining art techniques and feel that we are producing quality art at an affordable price.

We’ve expanded our gallery representation, adding the Ann Arbor Art Center to our list of galleries, as well as showing our art in several statewide shows. For the second year in a row, we are selling art for the holidays through an eBay store. eBay is still the best tool online for doing your own marketing, and whereas sites like etsy and bonanza keep seller fees low, eBay has the site recognition and customers that make selling on that site more than worthwhile. We are looking at a local art show for the month of December, and are hoping to reconnect with one local gallery.

In gearing up for our 2011 online holiday sales, it became immediately clear that we had to offer our art to customers in a unique way. Keeping with our goals of offering “good art at good prices”, we’ve combined some of our items together in order to offer multiple, complimentary pieces at discounted prices. We’re also offering single paintings, hand-painted scrabble tile necklaces and have extended our offerings into select vintage and antique items.

With our art offerings, you will find paintings from our Alaska experience, as well as paintings that have been completed more recently and may represent a landscape that one may feel is more familiar.

Please take a few minutes and familiarize yourself with our offerings, whether through our website, www.freshwatergallery.com, our eBay store at http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Freshwater-Gallery, or through facebook. And if you find anything that speaks to you, please contact us either by email, phone or through one of those websites.

Here’s to a Joyous and Blessed Holiday Season,

Ben & Elisabeth Seymour

Elsewhere: Bush Alaska

2011-10-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

Building Inuksuit by Ben Seymour

24 x 36 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel.
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Many Northern peoples have utilized the Inuksuk as a way to mark a trail or show where an event important to survival has happened in the past. Different shapes of Inuksuit signify different things—navigation, a point of reference, a food cache. Inupiaq Eskimos use Inuksuit to assist with the hunting of caribou, using it as a corral to chase the caribou through and to effectively catch them.

“Inuksuk” –plural “Inuksuit”—translates as “something which acts as or performs the function of a person.” The root of inuksuk, “Inu” means person, or “real person” as in “Inupiaq”; the word “Inua” means “spirit.” A common belief holds that if one destroys an inuksuk, evil will befall them, bringing death within a short time.

Inuksuit have always held a special place for me; my first exposure to them came in the tourist shops of Canada. As I began to pay attention to the landscape in the rural Alaska villages where I was living, I noticed that there were Inuksuit, both old and new.

There are smaller Inuksuit on Diomede Island marking the ancient trails, particularly two paths that go 1500 feet up from the village to the top of the island, one trail to the north and one trail to the south.

Golovin, the setting for Building Inuksuit, is an area of large Inuksuit that still exist in the hills behind the village. There is a story that a large Inuksuk also existed at the site of the tribal office. Apparently, the stones were taken down and scattered prior to the construction of the box-house style tribal headquarters.

Seven miles to the east is the traditional settlement of Golovin, Chinik, which today serves as Golovin’s fish camp on Chinik Creek. Chinik was a seasonal settlement of a family group of less than ten Inupiaqs. The location of Chinik and Golovin was important, as it is the exact area of the divide between the Inupiaq and Yup’ik language band. Before the Russians and other Americans came to the area, the Southern tip of the Seward Peninsula hosted many inter-tribal conflicts and was an area that many people traveled through. It would have been very useful to have an inuksuk perched on a hill overlooking Golovnin Bay, both to aid in land and sea travel.

I lived in Golovin for two years, in 2006 and 2007 at which time I made several paintings of the area. Though the exact location depicted in Building Inuksuit is not necessarily true to fact as far as the arrangement of the landforms, this painting does incorporate several key features present in the area in addition to inuksuit: Golovin Bay and some of the hills across the water; the large rocks in the hills behind the village; the mud flats by Chinik.

The area that became Golovin was named by Russian Explorer Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin, who visited the area in 1809. He was checking on the progress of the Russian- American Company, a trading company chartered by Tsar Paul I and famously run by Grigory Shelikov and Aleksander Baranov, who was instrumental in the Russians coming to Sitka in 1804.

About 70 miles east of Nome, Golovin was an area that the first serum run came through during the Spanish Influenza of 1918. The Annual Iditarod Dogsled race serves as a reminder of this important event in Alaska history.

Though the Iditarod was not run with the use of Inuksuit, by rather by checkpoint to checkpoint, these rock piles are much used by the villagers of Golovin today to mark the way to other isolated settlements and even the area of prime fishing spots and ice holes.

September Art Show: Foggy Bottom Coffee House in the Dexter Leader

2011-09-06T05:22:00.001-08:00

DEXTER: Foggy Bottom hosts Alaskan art by Ben and Elisabeth Seymour of Freshwater Gallery

Published: Tuesday, September 06, 2011, The Dexter Leader, Heritage Newspapers

By Krista Gjestland, Special Writer

Elisabeth Seymour's "Alaska Summer" depicts the Seymour's style of "energy painting."

Starting Labor Day, and continuing all through the month of September, Foggy Bottom Coffee House in Dexter will be showcasing art from Alaska.

Husband and wife artists Ben and Elisabeth Seymour of Freshwater Gallery lived and taught in rural Alaska for the past 10 years. Since meeting through an art exchange between their two villages, the couple has used their experiences to create original paintings.

Their show at Foggy Bottom, 7065 Dexter Ann Arbor Road, will be focusing on those experiences to show life in modern, rural Alaska.

‘We were the only people who were consistently painting visual art in that way in for the last nine years,” Ben Seymour said.

According to Seymour, he and his wife have two different styles of painting, though some of their subject matter is similar.

“Sometimes we use what the other person's doing as a springboard for the next project,” he said. “My wife is more of a polished, accomplished artist than I am.”

Elisabeth, according to Ben Seymour, has a style they’ve called “energy painting.”

“That came directly out of living in Alaska,” he said of her energy paintings.

Most of their pieces are landscapes or social realism pieces depicting native life. These realism paintings depict the day-to-day activities of the people who live their lives in these rural villages.

Some of the paintings, particular the ethnic pieces, are going to have stories with them,” Ben Seymour said. “If somebody buys that, they get the story that goes with it.”

Although they don’t expect to get rich off of their work, they do sell it.

“My wife and I both feel like art’s a commodity, like oil and bread and water, and that price can fluctuate,” Seymour said. “It’s foolish not to look at a sales-driven model for art.”

However, Freshwater Gallery purposefully keeps their prices at what Seymour calls “a decent price.”

Because they captured the lives of many people in the native villages they lived in, Freshwater Gallery gives some of their profit back.

“We’re not just saying ‘hey this is how those people live,’ ” Seymour said. “We are donating some money to local charities there.”

Some of the charities that benefit include the Boys and Girls Club of Alaska, Food Gatherers and Heifer International.

This past year, the couple decided to move back to Seymour’s hometown of Dexter to raise their first child.

“That was our intention in moving back to Michigan, to try to be a part of the community if they’d have us,” Seymour said.

Soon after moving back, Doug Marrin, owner of Foggy Bottom, approached Freshwater Gallery about doing a show of their Alaskan pieces.

Foggy Bottom has been showcasing Freshwater Gallery works for the past three years.

“Doug’s really been one of the best proponents of our art,” Seymour said. “He commissioned a few pieces for Foggy Bottom. He’s a good guy and Foggy Bottom is a good place.”

The show will feature 15 paintings and possibly a few sketches. All of the pieces will be available for purchase, though nothing will be over $200, says Seymour.

Currently Freshwater Gallery is also working on a Michigan series, which the couple hopes to debut in late November.

For more on Freshwater Gallery, visit www.freshwatergallery.com.

Helen Lake, Glacier National Park

2011-04-06T14:07:00.001-08:00

Helen Lake, Glacier National Park by Elisabeth C. Seymour

20 x 30 in. on Stretched Linen with Gallery Wrap

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October Storm, Moving the Umiak, Little Diomede Island

2011-04-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

October Storm--Moving the Umiak, Little Diomede Island by Ben Seymour

30 x 40 in. on Stretched Linen

Commissioned

On the Kenai

2011-02-06T11:34:00.000-09:00

On the Kenai by Elisabeth Colson Seymour

8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas

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Elsewhere: Alaska--Kenai Peninsula

2011-02-06T11:29:00.000-09:00

Alaska Summer by Elisabeth Colson Seymour

16 x 20 in. on Canvas Panel
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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Early Spring

2011-02-06T11:26:00.000-09:00

A Still, Small Voice by Elisabeth Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's

2011-01-30T21:23:00.000-09:00

The Woodcutter by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas.

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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's

2011-01-30T21:22:00.000-09:00

The Woodcutter: Mother & Child by Ben Seymour

16 x 20 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

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Mid-morning Village Scene: The Woodcutter

2011-01-04T07:38:00.000-09:00

Mid-Morning Village Scene: The Woodcutter by Ben Seymour

6 x 12 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's: Spring

2010-12-27T17:49:00.000-09:00

Spring Hills by Ben Seymour

8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Plein Aire
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Bush Alaska: Saint Mary's

2010-12-27T15:41:00.000-09:00

Fall Harvest: The Berry Pickers by Ben Seymour

12 x 16 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel.

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Bush Alaska: Saint Mary's

2010-12-26T12:31:00.000-09:00

In the Slough by Elisabeth Colson Seymour.

8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas. Gallery Wrap
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The Freezing River

2010-12-11T18:05:00.000-09:00

The Freezing River by Ben Seymour

8 x 10 in. Oil on Stretched Canvas

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Scrabble Tile Necklaces by Elisabeth Seymour

2010-12-11T17:50:00.003-09:00

Sledding Scrabble Tile Pendant with Necklace

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Cabin, Winter Scene Scrabble Tile Pendant with necklace

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Ice Fishing (Manaqing) Scrabble Tile Pendant with Necklace

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Winter Village Scene Scrabble Tile Pendant with Necklace

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Cross-Country Skiers Scrabble Tile Pendant with Necklace

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Poinsettias Scrabble Tile Pendant with Necklace

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Hand-made Scrabble Tile Necklaces by Elisabeth Colson Seymour

Acrylic on Scrabble tile, .74 in x .8 in.

12/4/10

2010-12-04T19:04:00.000-09:00

Autumn in St. Mary's by Elisabeth Seymour

6 x 8 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

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Work of an evening--er, multiple evenings

2010-11-29T21:49:00.003-09:00

Mid-Afternoon, Early November, Alstrom Slough by Ben Seymour

6 x 8 Acrylic on stretched canvas.
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Alaska Snowclouds, Hill by Ben Seymour

8 x 10 in. Acrylic on stretched canvas.

Frost-kissed by Elisabeth Colson Seymour.

6 x 8 in. Acrylic on stretched canvas.
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Hill and Spruce by Elisabeth Colson Seymour

6 x 8 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas.
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Autumn, Andreafski

2010-11-19T18:59:00.000-09:00

Autumn, Andreafski by Ben Seymour

18 x 24 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas.

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Village de Sainte-Marie (Style des Quebecois)

2010-11-16T20:44:00.005-09:00

Village de Sainte-Marie (Style des Quebecois) by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas.

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Style des Quebecois: Some Influences

Clarence Gagnon
Yvon Breton
Fleurimond Constantineau
Armand Tatossian
Rodolphe Duguay

Normand Boisvert

AY Jackson

Across the River-September

2010-11-15T17:54:00.001-09:00

Across the River--September by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in. Oil on Panel

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Mt. Tamalpais, California

2010-10-15T17:57:00.007-08:00

From Mt. Tam by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Canvas Board

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From Mt. Tam (Energy Style) by Elisabeth Seymour

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Canvas Board
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18 Miles Up

2010-09-12T10:54:00.000-08:00

18 Miles Up (At the Weir- South Fork, Andreafski River, Lower Yukon) by Ben Seymour

8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel.

Old Cabin

2010-09-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

Old Cabin (Artist's Home) by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

At the Rock Cairn

2010-09-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

At the Rock Cairn (Above the Yukon River) by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Canvas Board

Great Lakes Birch

2010-06-06T05:19:00.003-08:00

Birch Trees II by Elisabeth Seymour

Oil on Stretched Canvas

Commissioned

Bouleaux de Fleuve by Ben Seymour

Oil on Stretched Canvas

Commissioned

Hand-Painted Scrabble Tile Necklaces

2010-05-04T20:04:00.001-08:00

Elsewhere: Montana

2010-04-24T18:57:00.000-08:00

Tranquility by Elisabeth Colson Seymour

18 x 24 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas with Gallery Wrap.

Elsewhere: Michigan--The Hurons

2010-04-24T16:15:00.000-08:00

Autumn Excursion by Ben Seymour

Huron County, "The Thumb" of Michigan

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

October on the Huron River by Ben Seymour

8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Bush Alaska: North Fork, Andreafski River--Lower Yukon

2010-04-24T16:00:00.002-08:00

April 20th--Ice Fishing at Drunkard's Slough by Ben Seymour

8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

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Elsewhere: Michigan-Circle of Art

2010-04-21T11:57:00.010-08:00

Turning Art Into Food

2010 marks the 6th Circle of Art benefit for Food Gatherers,
located in Washtenaw County, Michigan. The Circle of Art
is a party, a project and a group effort by artists
and art lovers to help fight hunger in the area. Simply stated,
a bunch of artists donate small works
of art, Saline Picture Frame Company mats them all and hosts
a party,lots of people come to the party and bid on the art
and then Food Gatherers uses the money
raised to feed hungry people.

100% of your bid goes to Food Gatherers.

Wild Rosebush
7 x 5 in. on Stretched Canvas

Plein Aire Art by Elisabeth Colson Seymour at Circle of Art 2010

Bid Now

Over the last five years, the money raised from the sale of these
little pictures, sculptures, fiber works, jewelry and more has
enabled Food Gatherers to provide more than 125,000 meals
to local people in need, the beneficiary of all art sales
during Circle of Art.

Lava Field, Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland
8 x 10 in. on Canvas Board

Plein Aire Art by Ben Seymour at Circle of Art 2010

Bid Now

More than just a food bank, Food Gatherers is a quiet,
efficient and creative force for good in our community.
They work behind the scenes with more than 150 local
agencies to deliver food aid to those on the margins of
our community. Their Community Kitchen is a wonder,
converting and preparing surplus food, training
disadvantaged youth in the food service trade
and delivering meals to programs all over the county.
Their support of community garden projects takes the
idea of food delivery a big step past the basic food
rescue model.

We invite you to visit the Food Gatherers website to
learn more about the depth and breadth of their work.

You can see the work of all the artists who donated to
this worthy cause or link directly to the
Circle of Art site to learn more about this event.

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's

2010-04-06T18:34:00.002-08:00

Sunrise, Spruces, First Day of Spring (Northeastern Sky) by Ben Seymour

6 x 8 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Elsewhere: Mount Ranier

2010-03-29T16:04:00.003-08:00

Life is Short. Stay Awake. Climb a Mountain.

By Ben Seymour and Elisabeth Colson Seymour.

18 x 24 in. Mixed Media on Stretched Canvas.

Commissioned

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's: Spring

2010-03-27T19:15:00.000-08:00

March 21st by Ben Seymour

8 x 10 in. on Stretched Canvas with Gallery Wrap

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's

2010-03-13T18:51:00.002-09:00

Totems of the Delta by Ben Seymour

6 x 8 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
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Elsewhere: Let's Save Michigan

2010-02-13T12:15:00.001-09:00

Let's Save Michigan: Our Energy Future by Ben Seymour

18 x 24 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
See More Images

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's

2010-01-24T18:29:00.000-09:00

Untitled (Companion Piece to The Good Life) by Elisabeth Colson Seymour

12 x 16 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas.

Bush Alaska: Boy in Seal Skin

2010-01-18T07:23:00.001-09:00

Boy in Seal Skin by Elisabeth Colson Seymour

6 x 8 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

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Bush Alaska

2010-01-13T16:07:00.009-09:00

Alaska: The Berry Pickers by Elisabeth Colson Seymour

8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
Commissioned

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's -- Mid Spring

2010-01-12T20:24:00.002-09:00

Old Site Homes, New Site Cemetery--Quebec Style
(Maisons de l'ancien Site,Cimeterie Noveau Site--Style des Quebecois)
by Ben Seymour
11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Canas Panel

Old Site Homes, New Site Cemetery was painted plein aire on an early spring day in St. Mary’s, Alaska.

With my easel set up on the second-story back porch of our log cabin, and the house blocking the still cold early spring winds, these modern box-style houses in the village have always been interesting to me—the colors, their position in relation to one another with spruce, willows and birches sprinkled between, the hints that they hold of the inhabitant’s life spent in the outdoors. While creating this painting, I was put in the mind of Quebecois painters, and Habitant landscapes.

The title hints at the layout of the City of St. Mary’s: the older portion of town is set on the Andreafski River, with St. Mary’s proper up the hill, behind the viewer and to their right. The cemetery in the background—denoted with a large white cross in the painting and in life, sits on top of the willow covered hills and bluffs that drop down 200 feet to the river. This cemetery, more recent than a second old Catholic cemetery, provides a peaceful location to watch and listen to the changes and activity that take place on the Andreafski.

Founded in 1899, Andreafski served as a supply depot and rendezvous for the Northern Comercial Company’s fleet of riverboats that would ply up and down the Yukon River during the warmer months. Andreafski took it’s name for the Andrea family which settled on what became the Andreafski River; the Andrea family also built a Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1903, the Jesuit missionaries built a mission 90 miles downriver, on an island in a slough that connected two arms of the Yukon River. “Akalurak” as it was named—“In-Between Place”—had the main purpose of educating and caring for those orphaned by the flu epidemic of 1901. By 1915, there were 70 full-time students attending the mission.

By 1948, a proper village had been established at Akalurak, though the slough had silted in almost completely. The villagers decided to move to higher ground, securing supplies from several Akalurak homes and an abandoned gold-rush era hotel to construct a new mission. In 1949, an unused 15’ x 30’ building along with some other materials were barged from Galena Air Force Base. A tractor was barged from Holy Cross and a Catholic mission-school was built at St. Mary’s. St. Mary’s became incorporated as a city in 1964. In 1980, St. Mary’s and Andreafski were incorporated into a single city. In 1987, the mission officially closed, due to tensions between the students, the mission and the community.

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's

2010-01-12T16:07:00.011-09:00

40 Below by Ben Seymour

8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

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40 Below was painted from my living room window on a bitter day with that temperature. When it becomes this frigid, things often take on different colors that are almost surreal. The view is slightly up the river, and painted almost exactly a month later, than November 1 —Birches Across the Andreafski.

Bush Alaska: Little Diomede Island

2010-01-05T07:30:00.001-09:00

The Coming Storm: Moving the Umiak, Little Diomede Island by Ben Seymour

18 X 24 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Little Diomede Island, or Inaliq is one of the few places left in rural Alaska were people still live a fairly traditional lifestyle. Populated by about 150 residents, Little Diomede takes up an area of two-and-a-half square miles. The village is located close to the area of the waters of Bering Strait, facing west, toward the island of Big Diomede (Ratmanov to the Russians, Imagin to the Inupiaqs) and Siberia. At one time, Big Diomede, 15 square miles with a fresh-water waterfall on the West side of the island, hosted three Inupiaq villages. At the height of the Cold War, Josef Stalin relocated the Inupiaq Big Diomeders to Chukotka, putting them into the Collective farming system along with the other Siberian Yupik and Chukchi hunters and erecting a Soviet Airforce base and what was known as the “Ice Curtain” between the two islands and at the border between Russia and America, which also serves as the International Dateline.

Before the first American missionaries arrived in the early 1900s and before Stalin shut the border, travel between the two islands was frequent, with the larger Diomede as the island for permanent settlement. Little Diomede traditionally served as Big Diomede’s trash dump and cemetery. The coming missionaries made Diomeders pick an allegiance to either America or Russia, and claim a residence. There is also some evidence that the missionaries may have tried to suppress travel between the two islands, to little affect. However, that travel was effectively put to a stop with Stalin’s maneuver. Several Little Diomeders tried to go visit their Big Diomede relatives in the 1950s, but were quite surprised when they were met by Soviet Officers at the beach and were incarcerated for almost two months.

One of the many things that today shows the traditionalism of Little Diomede is the use of skin boats, or umiaks. These boats are made of female walrus skin stretched onto a wooden frame. Umiaks are advantageous to traditional hunters as they will not puncture against sea ice or on the rocks, whereas a metal or wooden boat would most likely sink in this situation.

Umiaks generally span at least 20 feet from end to end, weigh hundreds of pounds when empty, and can hold dozen of hunters. The boardwalk that you see in the painting is true to life: because Diomede Island is made ourt of large granite boulders, board walks have been installed in key places to make for level walking.
The area of the Diomede Islands is particularly susceptible to storms, high surf and much erosion. When certain storms are known to be coming, the men in the village gather where the umiaks are stored and move them to higher ground. The scene depicted in Approaching Storm is one that I witnessed and participated in countless times in the three years I lived on Diomede Island.

Bush Alaska: Saint Mary's

2009-12-04T15:47:00.002-09:00

The Good Life by Ben Seymour

24 x 36 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel.
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The idea for The Good Life came from an old couple who lived down the road from my wife and me in Saint Mary’s, Alaska. We had only lived in St. Mary’s for a year, but knew that though the couple was bent and elderly, they were famous for still taking excursions by snowmachine and four-wheeler out onto the land. The old man was a member of the Kazevnikov Family; no one presently living in St. Mary’s—even the eldest elder—could remember a time when the Kazevnikovs were not in the village.

The Kazevnikov home was typical of what one often finds in the village—the yard was strewn with disused machines, pieces of metal, plastic buckets, discarded fuel canisters, sleds both broken and new, all that made it look to untrained Western eyes like the location of a makeshift dump. However, to the owner of such treasures all this signified wealth.

I had always been interested in the house and this couples’ lives, though I had never had interaction with them beyond a brief wave or nod. Their house had an energy about it, to me even more so than other homes in town. Often, they had bright laundry flapping in the breeze, contrasted with the angular buildings and dark black and white spruce as a backdrop to the scene.

One day I was walking by the house; down the steps came the old man. He was “going out into the country” coming down the steps in his stooped way, struggling with a tote full of gear that he would need for the day’s adventures. His wife wasn’t with him. He was going out alone. This singular incident is what put The Good Life into motion.

Over the months it took me to complete this painting, several things happened: The old man was found out of town after he had lain on the tundra all night and was taken to the hospital where he withered for a long time. Soon after, the woman passed away. For weeks, different relatives constantly occupied the house, though the energy of the old couple stayed, as did the bright laundry. Then, about two months after his accident, the old man also passed away.

Saint Mary’s was incorporated as an Alaskan city in 1967. Less than a mile down the hill and closer to the river, lay the village of Andreafski. Founded in 1899, Andreafski served as a supply depot and rendezvous for the Northern Comercial Company’s fleet of riverboats that would ply up and down the Yukon River during the warmer months. Andreafski took it’s name for the Andrea family which settled on what became the Andreafski River; the Andrea family also built a Russian Orthodox Church.

Andreafski and Saint Mary’s became a single incorporated city in 1980. In 1987, the mission officially closed, due to tensions between the students, the mission and the community. The Kazevnikov’s were present for all these changes and many more.

Elsewhere: Himalayas, 1953

2009-10-29T12:40:00.008-08:00

Known Quantities: The Day After (From George Band's Famous Photo)

By Elisabeth Colson Seymour & Ben Seymour

18 x 24 in. Acrylic on Gallery-Wrapped Stretched Canvas)

Commissioned

Bush Alaska: Saint Mary's

2009-10-18T12:44:00.001-08:00

In Fall Color by Elisabeth Colson Seymour.

8 x 10 in. Oil on Canvas with Gallery Wrap.

Sold

Bush Alaska: Saint Mary's

2009-10-18T12:40:00.002-08:00

Andreafski River Sketch--Fall by Ben Seymour.

8 x 10 in. Oil on Varnished Wood Panel (Pine).
Sold

Bush Alaska: Saint Mary's

2009-10-17T15:38:00.002-08:00

Andreafski Autumn by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel.

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Elsewhere: Halibut Cove, Kachemak Bay, Alaska

2009-10-17T15:35:00.003-08:00

Gray Day, Halibut Cove by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
Sold

Bush Alaska: Wood-Tikchik State Park

2009-10-17T15:27:00.006-08:00

A Still, Small Voice: the Alaska Landscape by Elisabeth Colson Seymour

9 x 16 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

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Lichens Above Chikuminuk by Ben Seymour

12 x 16 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel.
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Elsewhere: Iceland, Hekla

2009-09-19T10:59:00.002-08:00

Hekla from Laugarvatn by Ben Seymour
8x10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel.

Elsewhere: Iceland, Reykjanes

2009-09-19T10:55:00.002-08:00

Lava Field, Reykjanes Peninsula by Ben Seymour
8x10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Elsewhere: Iceland, Reykjavik

2009-09-19T10:47:00.002-08:00

Reyjavik Scene by Elisabeth Seymour
8x6 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Reykjavik Street Sketch by Ben Seymour
6 x 8 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Elsewhere: Iceland, Gardaskagi, Reykjanes

2009-09-19T10:42:00.003-08:00

Lighthouse in Gardaskagi by Elisabeth Seymour
6x8 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Elsewhere: Iceland, Stykkisholmur, Snaefellsnes

2009-09-19T10:37:00.003-08:00

Sugandisey Island Sketch from Stykkisholmur by Ben Seymour
6x8in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Elsewhere: Iceland, Laugarvatn (Hot Pool Lake)

2009-09-19T10:26:00.004-08:00

Vigthalaug, Laugarvatn by Ben Seymour
6x8 in. Acrylic on canvas panel.

From Lonely Planet's Iceland by Fran Parnell & Etain O'Carroll. 6th Ed. 2007.

Elsewhere: West Iceland, Snaefellsnes, Trollakirkja

2009-09-19T10:03:00.006-08:00

From the book Iceland by Andrew Evans, Jan. 2008. England. Connecticut. p.248

Troll Church Sketch by Ben Seymour
8x10 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Troll Church by Elisabeth Seymour
6 x 8 in. Acrylic on canvas panel

Elsewhere: West Iceland, Snaefellsnes, Hellnar

2009-09-19T09:48:00.007-08:00

6x8 in. Acrylic on canvas panel by Elisabeth Seymour

6 x 8 in. Acrylic on canvas panel by Ben Seymour

Elsewhere: Glacier National Park

2009-05-19T11:03:00.002-08:00

On the Way to Elizabeth Lake by Ben Seymour
6x8 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Bush Alaska: Ciulunguq

2009-05-10T22:29:00.003-08:00

Grave at Ciulunguq (Dated 1941) by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Bush Alaska: Mid Fall, Southwest

2009-05-10T22:25:00.003-08:00

Lichen, Spruce, Lake Study by Ben Seymour
11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's -- Mid Spring: The Breaking River

2009-05-02T21:51:00.010-08:00

The Breaking River - Five Days On by Ben Seymour
6 x 8 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
Sold

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's -- Mid Spring: The Breaking River

2009-04-27T20:32:00.008-08:00

The Breaking River by Ben Seymour
6 x 8 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Sold at The Side Door Gallery

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's -- Early Spring Manaq'ing

2009-04-25T16:07:00.004-08:00

Patience by Elisabeth Seymour
5 x 7 in. Pen & Ink on Watercolor Board
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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's

2009-04-25T13:39:00.005-08:00

Around the Island by Elisabeth Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Bush Alaska: Dogsled

2009-04-24T17:30:00.002-08:00

Through the Trees - Midnight Ride by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Bush Alaska: Ciulunguq (Joo lun guq)

2009-04-23T07:09:00.008-08:00

Knoll at Ciulunguq by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Ciulunguq is the site of a seasonal camp about 40 miles SE of St. Mary's.
The village was abandoned some years ago, but there are graves in the area dating from the early 1940s.

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's --Fall

2009-04-22T19:05:00.003-08:00

Tundra Hills by Elisabeth Seymour
4 x 5 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

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Elsewhere: Cabinet Mountains, Montana

2009-04-19T21:17:00.005-08:00

Broken Fence by Elisabeth Seymour
11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's - Spring

2009-04-18T15:02:00.007-08:00

Easter Sunday
(Approach to Andreafski Mission Catholic Cemetery from the East)
by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Arcylic on Stretched Canvas
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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Mid Fall [Tired of Snow]

2009-04-17T06:50:00.006-08:00

Morning by Ben Seymour
11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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First & Second Pictures are high-quality scans
Third Picture is a Photo of the whole piece.

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Early Spring

2009-04-16T21:15:00.005-08:00

Pilot Mountain by Ben Seymour
8 in. x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Sold

Sketch of Pilot Mountain by Ben Seymour
8 in. x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Early Spring

2009-04-12T18:52:00.007-08:00

Blinding (Sketch from the Window) by Elisabeth Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

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On the Road (from Cemetery Hill) by Elisabeth Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Bush Alaska: View Over St. Mary's

2009-04-11T21:46:00.004-08:00

Migration-- Sandhill Cranes by Ben Seymour
4 x 5 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Elsewhere: Tired of Snow

2009-04-10T22:23:00.003-08:00

In Thanksgiving by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Mid Fall [Tired of Snow]

2009-04-09T19:37:00.009-08:00

Drying Fish by Elisabeth Seymour
8 x 10 in. Pen & Ink on Bristol Board

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Moose, River by Elisabeth Seymour
8 x 10 in. Pen & Ink on Bristol Board

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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Early Spring

2009-04-08T13:39:00.008-08:00

Red Polls by Elisabeth Seymour
6 in. x 8 in. Acrylic on Water Color Board
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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Mid Fall [Tired of Snow]

2009-04-07T20:29:00.003-08:00

Autumn Hillside by Ben Seymour
8 in. x 10 in. on Stretched Canvas

Wednesday by Ben Seymour
4 x 6 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Early Spring

2009-04-07T19:49:00.003-08:00

St. Mary's Hills by Elisabeth Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
Sold

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Late Winter Villagescape

2009-04-04T17:16:00.004-08:00

Late Winter Villagescape by Ben Seymour
11 in. x 14 in. on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Mid Fall [Tired of Snow]

2009-03-29T21:19:00.004-08:00

Dusk & Fall Come to the North Arm, Andreafski River by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Seasons of the Andreafski

2009-03-29T13:08:00.005-08:00

Seasons of the Andreafski by Elisabeth Seymour
11 in. x 14 in. Gallery Wrapped Stretched Canvas
Commissioned

In this piece I was asked if I could blend multiple distinct photographs into a single painting. I had never tried such a creation before but was eager to see if it could be done. Many pictures were sorted through and a decision was made that a seasonal theme would display the beauty of this area the best. Next, the photos were narrowed down further by keeping only scenes that included the Andreafski river. Soon four distinct scenes were decided on with a hand full of reference shots. However, blue berry bushes were greatly desired and I could not decide on a way to include those while remaining true to the original themes. Finally, my mind fell upon a gallery wrapped canvas and I knew how to pull it all together.

Here is each season:

Summer

Fall

Winter

Spring

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Mid Fall [Tired of Snow]

2009-03-28T21:35:00.005-08:00

Back to Camp, N. Andreafski River Weir-Off Season/Autumn by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

This is the fishing weir located about 20 miles up the Andreafski from St. Mary's--& halfway to Ciulunguq.

Bush Alaska: "Angles on the River" In Four Steps

2009-03-24T20:27:00.005-08:00

Step One

Step Two

Step Three

Step Four
Sold

This is very much how things are looking in St. Mary's.
It's good that Spring is finally here.

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Early Spring

2009-03-22T21:56:00.015-08:00

Shadows of Sun by Elisabeth Seymour

8 in. s 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
Sold

A Franklin Carmichael Study by Elisabeth Seymour

8 in. x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Common Red Poll by Ben Seymour
4 in. x 5 in. Canvas Panel
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Welcome, Spring! by Elisabeth Seymour

8 in. x 10 in. Watercolor with pen and ink mounted on board

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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Late Winter

2009-03-08T14:20:00.018-08:00

Evening Shadow by Elisabeth Seymour
4 x 6 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
Sold

Willows by Elisabeth Seymour
4 x 6 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Birch Stand by Ben Seymour
4 x 6 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
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Winter Scene, Light & Shadow by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
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Village Ravens by Ben & Elisabeth Seymour
11 x 14 in. Mixed Media on Canvas Panel
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The Hardest Winter by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Despite the Coming Spring by Ben Seymour
4 x 5 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's: Mid Winter Sunday

2009-02-16T20:02:00.002-09:00

Sunday AM by Ben Seymour
6 x 8 in. Acrylic on Canvas Board

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Sunday PM by Ben Seymour
6 x 8 in. Acrylic on Canvas Board
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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's-Mid-Winter

2009-02-08T20:33:00.006-09:00

Long Shadows, Longer Days by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
Sold

Through the Trees by Elisabeth & Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Between the Trees by Elisabeth Colson Seymour
4 x 6 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

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Winter Hillside by Ben Seymour
4 x 6 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
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Out the Cabin Window (After Pierre Bonnard (?)) by Ben Seymour
5 x 7 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Elsewhere: Scotland

2009-01-26T16:27:00.004-09:00

"Three Boats, Isle of Mull, Inner Hebrides, Scotland
(Painted on Robert Burns' 250th Birthday) by Ben Seymour
11 x 14 in. , Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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A Poem by Robert Burns

Bush Alaska: St. Mary's-Late Fall/ Early Winter

2008-11-18T14:06:00.008-09:00

At Play by Elisabeth Colson Seymour

11 x 14 in. on Canvas Panel
Sold

Andreafski River Sunset by Ben Seymour

8 x 10 in. on Corner Canvas, Acrylic

The Cabin Elisabeth Colson Seymour
8 x 10 in., Watercolor on Bristol Board
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November 1st, Andreafski River by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in., Acrylic on Canvas Panel
More Info/Purchase from The Side Door Gallery

The color change comes quickly to the parts of Alaska fortunate enough to have trees—lasting little more than a month from beginning to end. In 2008, winter weather came to St. Mary’s so quickly as to freeze the tawny leaves to the willows without giving them much of a chance to fall, while the taller birches had already been blown bare. November 1 was painted from my living room window on that date.

November Woods by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in., Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

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Winter River Sketch by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in., Acrylic on Canvas Board

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Bush Alaska: St. Mary's--Late Summer/Early Fall

2008-09-29T11:21:00.002-08:00

Saint Mary's Down Town Elisabeth Colson Seymour
8 x 10 in., Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Old Catholic Mission Ben Seymour
11 x 14 in., Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Andreafski River Elisabeth Colson Seymour
11 x 14 in., Acrylic on Canvas Panel

After the Salmon Run by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in., Acrylic on Canvas Panel
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Front Porch River by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in., Acrylic on Canvas Board

Rock Cairn Above the Confluence of Yukon & Andreafski Rivers by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in., Acrylic on Canvas Board

Berry Picking Above St. Mary's by Elisabeth Seymour

8 x 10 in., Acrylic on Canvas Board

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Andreafski River Scene by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in. Acrylic on Canvas Board

Elsewhere: Michigan

2008-09-01T19:56:00.003-08:00

Snow-Covered Lane by Elisabeth Colson (Seymour)
8 x 10 in., Acrylic on Canvas Panel
Gifted

Heavy with Snow by Elisabeth Seymour
5 x 5 in., Acrylic on Bristol Board

Elsewhere: Midwest

2008-08-24T13:48:00.001-08:00

Roadside Landscape by Ben Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

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Elsewhere: Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin

2008-08-23T18:18:00.002-08:00

Rain Tree Elisabeth Colson Seymour
8 x 10 in., Acrylic on Painted Wood Panel

Lillies by Elisabeth Seymour

11 x 14 in. Oil on Stretched Canvas

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Birches on the Lake by Elisabeth Seymour

8 x 10 in., Oil on Stretched Canvas

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Bouleau Blanc by Ben Seymour

11 x 14 in., Oil on Stretched Canvas

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Elsewhere: Northwestern Montana

2008-07-18T20:05:00.003-08:00

Katie's Tree Elisabeth Colson Seymour
18 x 24 in. Acrylic on Canvas Sheet
Gifted

Morning Call by Elisabeth Colson (Seymour)
5 x 7 in., Pen & Ink on Bristol Board
Sold

Mountaintop Clouds by Elisabeth Seymour
8 x 10 in. Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Snow-covered Lane by Elisabeth Seymour
4 x 6 in. Acrylic on Stretched Canvas